the dude abides

Christine made me laugh yesterday by pointing out my flagrant use of the word dude.

Dude.

It's the word that keeps on giving. But before I digress, let's start with a working definition.

The term "dude" is best known as a widely-used English slang word commonly used to informally address or refer to a person of the male sex. The word may also be used in the same manner when speaking to (or about) a person of the female sex. In informal social situations, it is not uncommon for young men to use the word "dude" to address one another, for example, "Mike Smith is one cool dude", or "Who did that?", "[The] dude with the red shirt did that". (sis). "Dude" may also be used alone in a sentence, serving as an exclamation; denoting a feeling of surprise, happiness, disappointment, amazement or anger, among other emotion.[1] The word might also be used practically anywhere in a sentence in order to convey such sentiments in conversation. The word's pluralization, simply "dudes," may also be used in the same manners. (Wikipedia, the source of all things accurate).

I was pleased to discover that I am using it in the right context. Dude to the chicks? No problem. Dudes to the masses? A-OK. Dude as an expression of tremendous joy? Right on. Dude anywhere in a sentence to convey sentiments? HA! See, I do that too.

Here are some others and of course, the inflection is critical. The tricky part is expressing that inflection in the blog world. Some examples may include:

Dude. Did you see that!!!
Dude. I am listening and I agree and I am so right there with you.
Dude. Are you kidding me? That rocks!
Dude. I love you.
Dude. Whoa. Wow. Nice.
Dude. No shit, really? That really happened??
Dude. Amen, yes, absolutely perfect.

I use the word at work:
Dude. Hey homeless guy, knock that shit off.
Dude. Hey, let's go get some lunch.
Dude. Nice going!
Dude. WTF? (this one comes with a specific facial expression)

I also use that word at home. M and I Dude each other all the way to school.

Me: Dude
M: Dude!
Me: Dude
M: Dude!

We'll do that till she points out that she does indeed have a real name and dude isn't it. She's still kind of uptight, though. I expect she'll come around. After all, she is only two. Dude.

And if I was as crafty as Alejna Id come up with an entire post replacing words in song titles with dude. Such as: I've been through the desert on a dude with no name (liberties on that one) or Dude on the run, or To dude, with love. But I am not as crafty as Alejna, so I'll leave that to her.

And my special whammy dude comes out when I am dealing with lawyers or cops or political types. I'll give a speech or hold my own in an argument, but then if the occasion permits it I'll insert a dude just to keep them on their toes. A girl's got to keep it real.

And more than anything, it's the irony that I appreciate. It's such a ridiculous word. All the more reason to toss it around.

In fact, the first person to leave a haiku in the comments using the word dude wins a special prize. What prize, you ask? It's special. It might even be candy. Dude.